TIGF, well almost. It is 1130cst and I really need to go to bed. I just wanted to post this update and off to sleepyland. Things seem to be really picking up now. Isak sent emails to his friends to see if they want to come over for our 'little ceremony' and it is turning out a little bigger than expected. I am actually ok though, not as stressed as I was when trying to plan the 'big wedding'. If his mom comes over, then I will have my parents come over so at least they can meet for the one and only time. So far, I have the dress, the wedding bands, the photographer... what else, AH YES a location!!!! I am going to start looking at parks in the area so we can visit them and see if they have a gazebo we can use, in case of rainy weather. I also talked to my friend, Carrie today. She is my matron of honor. Since I plan to be in the Columbus, Ohio, area for the 4th of July, I was thinking it my be good to have a little bridal shower then as well so I can see all my friends there and let them know what is going on and update them on the happenings. Carrie has a lot going on in her life as well, she and her husband, which just got married last August, are looking to buy a new house. Sooooo, we may have the party there!
I also learned something about the marriage license. Once we find out the location, I can then get the license. Illinois is very particular about that. You have to get the license for the county you are getting married in. I printed off some info so I can read that this weekend. ok, my eyes are getting really droopy now so I am off!!!

Isak and I got our wedding bands ordered on Saturday, March 25 ,2006.
I got a couple postcards from this place that was having 30% off sale
so we went up there just to see what they had. Isak picked out his band.
It isn't just white gold, it is a bit darker. It is kinda hard to explain so
everyone will need to wait and see.
He needs to get it sized down so we should get it in 2-4 weeks. I had
intended to get a plain band but none looked good next to the engagement
ring. I found one that has small round stones and sideways baugettes.
they alternate. I had to leave the engagement ring there, which I feel
really paranoid about. Since it is 30 minutes north of
where we live and no where close to where I work, I have to leave it
there all week and pick it up next weekend. That can actually work out
though because then we can go to the botanical gardens and check it out.
I sent them a couple emails since I never seem to have time to call them
so this way we can actually see the place. If it is too expensive, then
we can just do it at a beach or someplace similar.

I had contacted my friend Carrie's photographer. Everyone in the chicago
area seemed so expensive. I left her a voice mail and she called back after
a couple days. I am really excited that she is available. I haven't
confirmed everything yet but I will here in the next day or so. I was getting
nervous when she didn't call back right away.

All I need to do now is find a minister in the area. Maybe I can ask
our pastor back home if he knows anyone in the area.
I did talk to my dad and said that we can have a reception around
Thanksgiving so we can be there a few extra days and not rush home.
Wow, things are really coming together!!!

It has been a few days and I thought I better write down some things before I forget. I have been on vacation and it is easy for time to fly buy. Isak and I went to my parents house for the weekend and my brother and his family came up on Saturday. It was wonderful weather and great to hang out together. My sister in law is becoming the major photographer and asked that we bring black shirts and matching color jeans. I knew immediately what she was up to and was all for it. That afternoon was very windy and sprinkled a little. We went out and took some great pics together. She also had fun changing the colors to black and white, sepia and other things. I will post a few that I really liked here so all can see.

We do have some news... after talking to my parents and brother and sister in law, we may be eloping rather than having an actual wedding. It is too hard to have a wedding and include everyone we want when so many are on the other side of the world, well, not actually other side of the world but definitely other side of the Atlantic. We will elope, maybe have a couple close friends with us, and then have a reception in Sweden and then Sandusky, Ohio. Now the fun begins!!! If I can have my way, I want to get married this year around September. I wish we had the time (and money) to get married in the Keys. Otherwise, we will look around the Chicago area and maybe some places out west, locations we have never been.

I do have one last crazy thing to mention. I had printed out almost ALL of the Save the Date cards to send out to various individuals to let them know about the wedding date. No one, and I mean NO ONE, saw the mistake except my father. I accidently typed May 19, 2006 and it should have been May 19, 2007. I wanted to scream, cry, rant and rave at the craziest mistake I could make. Amy had bought extras and brought them with her (THANK GOODNESS) and now I might not even need them. We can always use them as invitations to the receptions, etc. I am still annoyed at myself for doing that. I thought I was being so careful. Oh well, Se la vie.
Cheers and good night :)

I have been persuaded to start a post about my upcoming wedding. I wasn't sure but decided why not? It all started back in 2002 when I met my fiancee. His name is Isak and he is from Sweden. So, how did we meet? We met online. Yes, I did say online. He was an au-pair in the Chicago area and was coming back to visit with the family and I was living in Columbus, Ohio, at the time. We started off as friends and before you knew it, it was time to meet. I knew the minute I saw him at the airport that HE WAS THE ONE!!! Because of him, I have been able to travel overseas and meet his family. The second trip, Summer 2005, we were engaged. We were travelling the southern part of Sweden and just settled for the night in a city called Malmö. The sun was setting and we were taking pictures of the sunset over the ocean looking at the bridge to Denmark. It was July 3rd to be exact. You have to keep in mind that 9:30 at night still had plenty of daylight. The batteries in the camera had died so I handed it to him to dig for more batteries. He put them in and handed the camera back to me. I started shaking it and thought OH NO it was broken. I opened up the battery compartment and in side was THE RING!!! I started to cry and he took the camera out of my hands. He had been standing behind me and came around and asked if I WOULD MARRY HIM!!! I said YES OF COURSE and my hands were flapping around. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.
So here I am, living in Chicago with Isak. He started school here to be closer to me and I moved to be closer to him. We have a wonderful apartment here in the city and so begins the wedding plans. Stay tuned for more adventure!!

Here is a funny story my sister in law sent me. It is about a dream she had...

I was going to email you today to tell you that I had a NIGHTMARE last night! I was getting dressed for the wedding and I realized that I never ordered my SHOES. My mom was with me and she was trying to find me shoes to wear and I kept saying "no, no, they have to match, I can't believe I forgot to order a dyed pair of shoes!"
It was so stupid.

I told her I was going to post this so here it is :)